Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal, has officially opened The Lake District’s newest visitor attraction and England’s premier whisky distillery, The Lakes Distillery which has its headquarters in Gosforth, Newcastle.
Founder and managing director of The Lakes Distillery, Paul Currie, welcomed her Royal Highness Princess Anne to the distillery’s picturesque setting overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake this week (22 July) before inviting her to tour the £7m development.
Her Royal Highness visited the stillroom where The Lakes Vodka, The Lakes Gin and The Lakes Single Malt is produced on-site, and the Bistro at the Lakes Distillery before unveiling a plaque in the distillery courtyard which marks its official opening.
Following the tour, Paul and chairman of the board, Nigel Mills presented Her Royal Highness with a sherry cask of The Lakes Malt to commemorate her visit to The Lakes Distillery.
Paul said: “It was an incredible honour to have Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal officially open The Lakes Distillery and all of us will remember it for years to come. As the only distillery in Cumbria, we are very proud of our team and our facilities which are already producing award-winning spirits. It was a pleasure to be able to present the fruit of our hard work to such a prestigious guest.
“Her Royal Highness’ visit marks the start of our first summer season open to the public. We expect to attract 100,000 guests of all ages to the distillery each year, who will be able to follow the same tour as Her Royal Highness, and we hope they enjoy their visit just as much.”
The Lakes Distillery opened to the public in December 2014 and produces the only true Cumbrian whisky, gin and vodka. The Lakes Distillery, complete with visitor centre, shop and bistro, is situated just six miles from Keswick next to Bassenthwaite Lake in an area of unimaginable beauty encircled by Cumbrian fells.
For more information, please visit www.LakesDistillery.com